


And I've been meaning to tell you

by sometimez



Category: Superstore (TV)
Genre: F/M, Feelings, Friends who refuse to talk about their feelings, I really don't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:27:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26289463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sometimez/pseuds/sometimez
Summary: He’s always been sure you can have more than one best friend anyway.He just doesn’t know what to do when you develop all-consuming feelings for one who was in the middle of juggling a divorce and raising a teenage daughter. But he’s fine with just enjoying the time he does get to spend with her, even if it is mostly restricted to the confines of this stupid store. It’s even better when they somehow spend their whole shifts together doing something that leaves no room to do any actual work.
Relationships: Amy Dubanowski & Jonah Simms, Amy Dubanowski/Jonah Simms, Jonah and Amy
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35





	And I've been meaning to tell you

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really know what this is, I think I'm just equal parts relieved and terrified to get them back next month.

“And we have got to stop assigning Elias to the freezer section” Jonah stresses for what feels like the millionth time. 

“He keeps getting into heated arguments about the ranking of types of frozen shrimp with a customer that comes in way too often for coconut shrimp. He always makes sure to point out it's for his wife, but now that I think about it, I’ve yet to actually see her by the way” he takes a second and pauses thoughtfully. 

“It’s not like I’d really like to meet someone that enjoys frozen shrimp that much but there is a lingering curiosity...” he trails off as he realizes they’ve made it halfway across the store on complete opposite ends of the frozen food aisles. He finally stops talking and looks over expectantly at Amy. 

“Yeah. No, for sure” she agrees.

She moves to jot down the note on her clipboard but as she does the stroke of her pen adds to an impressive flower she’s been working on. She’s been getting better at them, the little doodles. She really should grab a sketchbook before her shift ends like Emma had suggested earlier that week. 

That was sweet of her. She had a great kid, looking after her mom’s interests. 

Or was Emma just getting sick of finding random drawings all over graded assignments she’d bring home and the take out menus they had scattered around the house? 

It’s not like Emma had ever objected really, or even outwardly mentioned it to Amy. Yet that didn’t refrain her daughter from directing a judgmental look towards her while they were choosing sides off the newly decorated menu from the Chinese place they both love. 

It wasn’t a big deal or anything either, maybe the thought of good egg rolls at reasonable prices just made Amy feel excited. Come to think of it, the last time it happened was weeks ago, probably months. At least that’s what Amy chose to tell the voice in her head that reminded her she always got most carried away while on the phone. But she doesn’t even talk on the phone. Who does nowadays? The only person she has regular conversations with is Jonah and she can’t handle him for extended periods of time even over the phone. 

She’s sure their conversations can’t last more than five minutes. Ten minutes tops. It wasn’t anything excessive. 

Okay, their conversations may be closer to fifteen minutes, twenty if Jonah was being really insufferable that day, but who is Amy to pass up the opportunity of releasing her pent-up frustrations by telling Jonah how wrong he is about something.

So she drew a few hearts on the back of her daughter’s graded English paper, it didn’t mean anything. It’s not like she draws to avoid twirling her finger in her hair, it's just whenever Jonah gets overly excited his voice makes her hyper-aware of her surroundings. 

Amy refuses to admit she’s spent increasing amounts of time pacing back and forth in her living room while being on the phone with him and talking no less because “it’s not the same Amy. I can’t get my thoughts across as fast through text.” 

She continued to refuse obviously; she hadn’t spent time talking on the phone much since high school. She still remembers secretly being on the phone for hours with Adam. She always had to beg the clerk to remove any overdraft fees because her parents would kill her. And it’s not like that turned out so well. 

So she had no intention of giving in until he said something that caught her off guard one day. 

-

“It’s literally the whole point of phones Amy, we talk all the time at work I don’t get the difference” he’d pointed out. 

“I just don't want to be able to hear when you’re about to say something really annoying. It’s like the buildup is almost as bad as the actual annoying thing” she added while restocking the same shelf she was pretty sure she had assigned to someone else that morning.

She can’t even begin to emphasize how he’s almost more insufferable on the phone because even though she can’t see him the lilt in his voice lets her know he's giving her that look that he does when he wants to correct something she’s said but is trying his hardest to hold it in, or when he thinks he says something clever and tries to hide the stupid quirk of his smile. 

“Okay, fine I guess” he relented sounding almost defeated.

“It’s just then I won’t be able to tell if I made you laugh, which is like the best part of talking to you” he added so nonchalantly. He chose just then to be useful and started stocking the bottles of hand soap beside her. 

As if Amy’s brain wasn’t short-circuiting. 

As if her entire world hadn’t just- okay, hold on not her entire world. It’s not like Jonah had become her entire world or anything. She had a daughter, and hopes and dreams. 

He’d just been there for her in a way she didn’t think anyone else had her entire adult life. And even if she had found herself feeling a sense of comfort every time she spotted him while walking into work she had never planned on admitting that to anyone. Like she was just coming to terms with the idea of Jonah’s voice fitting into her life outside of work, while in her home. She wasn’t at all ready to think about how much she liked it yet. 

But now she couldn’t even take a second to think about what all that meant because her brain had been forced into overdrive. She finally started preparing a speech about how she wasn’t ready to date or how it was probably a bad idea to get involved with coworkers or some other excuse that wouldn’t sound too much like a cliche. Especially because she couldn’t even bring herself to believe them as she was going over them in her head. 

Because she’s obviously the first one to admit Jonah’s definitely the most annoying person she’s ever come across. Like truly insufferable sometimes. Honestly, it’s like he makes it a mission to outdo himself in terms of finding the most niche things to become interested in or learning the most random facts no one else would want to know. 

But he’s also frustratingly thoughtful. Like when he insists she has to put herself first sometimes. Even if she ignores his advice most of the time and rolls her eyes at his suggestions, it’s nice to hear. And he’s always trying his hardest to refrain from judgment no matter how much he’s dying to interject when she’s venting about something intense like the whole Adam thing. And if she’s not in the mood to talk he always manages to make her laugh, whether it be with him or at him. This brings her back to the comment that sent her down this inward spiral. 

“It’s like, I can’t believe I can make the same Amy I met on my first day here laugh in a way that isn’t always at me you know? The first time I realized I made Garret laugh and he wasn’t just making fun of something I was wearing I almost asked if I could take a picture to commemorate the moment.”

Jonah chooses then to look over at Amy as she's trying to bring herself back to reality. “Okay, fine, I did ask for a picture to commemorate the moment but I’m just glad you guys are starting to like me” he admitted.

“Yeah, no” Amy replied ever so eloquently. “Sounds like something you’d do.” 

She was finally able to take a breath and no longer felt like she was on the verge of hyperventilating. She took another second but found her stride easily, “but how can you be so sure we do actually like you? Mateo said something about you being a corporate spy once and I don’t think we’ve been able to actually let go of that possibility.”

\- 

It takes him a moment to realize Amy’s making the face she does when she’s in the middle of totally overanalyzing her life choices and Jonah knows he has to jump in soon before it gets too bad. They’re stopped in front of the back to school bins and he grabs a children’s book he recognizes all too well and knows shouldn’t be mixed in with the spiral notebooks.

“I think Munro Leaf summed it up best,” definitely not one of his more subtle approaches of getting her attention, but he manages to catch Amy off guard before she starts walking again. 

She doesn’t say anything but looks at him expectantly like she’s giving him a chance to not look like a complete idiot. Seems like she’s going soft on him. 

“Ferdinand is just the first-time children, especially young boys, can see an alternative to the enforced narrative of toxic masculinity” Jonah offers. 

“Okay.” 

“And I just think that uh, now... more than ever, in this polarizing political climate, it’s important to let boys know that violence or being overly aggressive isn’t always the answer.”

“Right” Amy nods along and he can tell she’s really trying to understand what this speech has to do with anything so he has to act fast before he loses her again. 

“And I just really see myself in him and have just never been able to tell anyone that” he finishes quickly because yeah, he was just meant to come up with something to distract her but there’s so much truth in that statement he hadn’t initially meant to get into on his way to work that day. 

“Really,” Amy says as she tries to manage a neutral tone but he can tell she’s trying to fight off a smile. Her more relaxed expression doesn’t let him dwell on the embarrassment of his confession for too long. 

“Yup,” Jonah replies easily, and now he’s the one trying hard to suppress a full-on grin while staring at her struggling to contain herself. 

“Well that’s not surprising really,” Amy replies almost offhandedly while she pretends to be reading something on her clipboard.

“What is that supposed to mean,” Jonah says, feigning offense. He refuses to break first. 

He’s not holding his breath or anything. After being at the store this long he’s taken his role as the walking punchline very graciously in his own opinion. And there isn’t malicious intent behind it he knows now. No matter what Garret or Dina says, they care about him and his many, many, many opinions. 

He likes to think of himself as the unifier that kind of got them all to be friends. He remembers Dina being a lot more distant at first, and he doesn’t totally get Cheyenne all the time, Mateo might be more standoffish now, but Garret is definitely his best friend. Fuck Randy. Well, no. Randy seems like a cool guy and they hung out that one time, so yeah, they're cool. He’s always been sure you can have more than one best friend anyway.

He just doesn’t know what to do when you develop all-consuming feelings for one who was in the middle of juggling a divorce and raising a teenage daughter. But he’s fine with just enjoying the time he does get to spend with her, even if it is mostly restricted to the confines of this stupid store. It’s even better when they somehow spend their whole shifts together doing something that leaves no room to do any actual work. 

Amy wasn’t as prone to goofing off before, and even if he’s the target of her ridicule most often he can’t be mad at anything that makes her let go of the weight of everything she’s got going on, even for a little bit. And he vows to always do everything in his power to make her break as much as he can. Which he can manage a lot easier now. But what can he say, he’s just a very likable and charming person. 

“Nothing, I just really see the similarities, it’s a very noble and important message” Amy finally answers and brings him back. 

“Exactly” he agrees.

“Along with the fact he has particular tastes and acknowledges he’s... different” she knows to choose her words carefully now.

“I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you” Jonah knows it’s coming.

“And he can’t fight.” There it is.

“Yeah- wait.” 

“Like just so bad at dealing with confrontation in general.” Amy is on a roll now. 

“I could fight. I can fight, I’ve like... fought before,” Jonah insists weakly.

“Oh, no yeah.”

“Yeah.” 

“I’m sure that’s true.”

“It is,” Jonah emphasizes more surely now.

“Sure, no, yeah” Amy nods along. She stays quiet a second too long so Jonah knows she’s not done.

“But like, have you though?” She makes that face like she’s got him all figured out in her head. Like he’s not petrified of that possibility. 

“I told you I have older brothers!” Jonah persists but he knows he doesn’t have a chance of beating her at this game now. He gave her the upper hand, not like she needed it. 

“Yeah but getting beat up doesn’t really count as being able to fight” and she can no longer hold back her grin. 

And there it is, the smile he was working for. Not exactly her light up a room smile, but something he’s come to realize she reserved especially for him for times like these. And all it cost him was an embarrassing childhood confession he’s sure he’ll hear for at least the next week.

“I was not-” he continues even though he knows he’s lost. 

And Amy fixes him with the look. The, I know you know that I’m right so let’s just cut the bullshit and admit it look. He’s been on the receiving end of that one enough to recognize it well too. 

“Yeah okay, but my mom always said I put up a good fight for a kid my size” he admits.

Just before Amy can respond again Dina cuts through Amy’s walkie. “Amy, the next shift is coming in soon we need the new floor assignments. Can you stop flirting with Jonah? It's been nauseating watching you two standing there for the last thirty minutes, you’re lucky Glenn doesn’t let me dock people’s pay for being nauseating anymore.”

“First of all, gross Dina. Why were you even watching us in the first place?” Amy responds as she starts making her way towards the back of the store as Jonah falls easily into step beside her.

“I’m just keeping an eye out in case you two finally man up and bone each other, Brett started a new pool,” she says easily. 

“Again, completely inappropriate Dina,” Amy stops and looks over at Jonah. “So your shift is ending soon, guess I’ll see you later?” she asks him.

“Yeah, I’m not in tomorrow, but you’ll have me all weekend,” he says without thinking.

She raises her eyebrows at him and he immediately regrets his choice of words. 

“Not like you’ll have me like I’m yours like you’re my boss and you…”

“Stop talking and go clock out” she finally cuts in as she starts towards Glenn’s office down the hall. 

“Yeah, cool, good” he offers in appreciation and wills her not to look back as he watches her walk off. 

\- 

Later when she gets home, she breaks in her new sketchbook with a replica of the flower from her clipboard earlier that day. It’s most definitely a complete coincidence that she happens to be on the phone with Jonah while it’s happening.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first time I've ever posted anything, so thank you for reading! Let me know what you think!!


End file.
